Jochen Rindt
|birthplace = Mainz, Germany |death date = |placeofdeath = Monza, Italy |nationality = |status = Deceased (fatal accident) |firstrace = 1964 Austrian Grand Prix |firstwin = 1969 United States Grand Prix |lastrace = 1970 Italian Grand Prix |lastwin = 1970 German Grand Prix }} Karl Jochen Rindt (born April 18, 1942 in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany – died September 5, 1970 in Monza, Milan, Lombardy, Italy) was a German racing driver who represented Austria, who most notably won the Formula One World Championship in . He was killed in an practice accident during his championship year and is F1's only posthumous World Championship. Formula One Career 1964 Rindt's parents were killed in a bombing during the Second World War, and he was raised in Graz, Austria. There Rindt started motor racing. After success in Formula 2, Rindt reached F1 in , making his début for the Rob Walker Racing Team at the , which turned out to be his only race that year. 1965 In , Rindt signed up to drive full-time for the team. The car provided was not fast enough and the inexperienced Rindt was only able to score 4 points. 1966 However, the car provided by Cooper was quicker and Rindt often scored points, including three podiums, to come third in the championship. The was the best race of the season for Rindt, where he led for 20 of the 28 laps but eventually finished over 40 seconds behind race winner John Surtees. At the , Rindt's final lap was too slow and it was not counted, but he was given second place. 1967 Unfortunately for Rindt, was hampered by breakdowns. Out of the ten races he started, Rindt only finished two, both in fourth place. 1968 was similar as even though Rindt had moved to , he was once again plagued with reliability problems, scoring just two third place finishes. The first was in South Africa in Jim Clark's last race; the other at the , where Jackie Stewart won by over four minutes despite driving with a broken wrist. 1969 Rindt moved to in , and yet suffered from poor reliability, but a string of three podium finishes brought Rindt his first win, at the . Rindt also took five pole positions. Before that, he finished 0.08 seconds behind eventual Champion Stewart at the , and fourth-placed Bruce McLaren, was only 0.19 seconds behind Stewart. The next race, the race before the win, was the , where Rindt led the first five laps. As for the US GP, Rindt secured pole and fought hard with Stewart, and then when Stewart was forced to slow, Rindt had an easy victory. 1970 was to be Rindt's year, as Lotus team leader. Rindt took victory at the , taking advantage of Jack Brabham's misfortune to take victory at the last corner. He then won four races in a row, the Dutch, the French, the British and the German. The Dutch win was by 30 seconds over Stewart in a dominant display. The French win was a strong victory at the dangerous Charade Circuit. The British win was more exciting, with Rindt holding the lead for the majority of the race before losing the lead to Brabham with 12 laps remaining, but Brabham slowed at the end, and Rindt took victory by over half a minute. Rindt was then disqualified for having a wing too high, but was quickly reinstated. The final win of the season, the German, was won after a fantastic slipstreaming battle with Jacky Ickx. Death After retiring at the , Rindt was killed in practice for the . Since Monza was track all about speed, the team decided to remove the wings of the car, but this would make the car less stable. While braking into a turn, Rindt lost control of the car; spinning it into the barriers. Because Rindt would not use a safety harness that kept his body from shifting in an accident, the impact forced his body forward, and the strap from the safety harness slit his throat. Rindt was removed from the car and taken to a nearby hospital by the track medical crew, however, he would be pronounced dead on arrival. The Lotus team withdrew from the race as a mark of respect. Rindt had a lead of more than 20 points when he died. Jacky Ickx made a late charge in the standings, but despite two wins in the final races, he finished five points short of Rindt. Formula One Statistical Overview Formula One Record Career Statistics Race Wins Career Results ||||0|NC}} | |11th| |14th| | |8th| | |4|13th}} | | | | | | | | |22 (24)|3rd}} | | | | | | | | | ||6|13th}} | | | | | | | | | | | |8|12th}} | | | | | | | | | | |22|4th}} | | | | | | | | ||||45|1st}} External Links * Formula One - Hall Of Fame * ESPN Driver Profile * Wikipedia article * Manipe F1 article es:Jochen_Rindt Category:1942 births Category:1970 deaths Category:Austrian Drivers Category:World Championship Winning Drivers Category:1964 Début Drivers Category:Brabham Drivers Category:Cooper Drivers Category:Team Lotus Drivers Category:Jochen Rindt Category:F1 drivers killed while racing